They've popped the question; you’re wearing the ring and glowing with excitement, but now what? With so many tasks to manage and details to organize, planning for your wedding can seem overwhelming. And, rightfully so. There are so many moving parts to planning a wedding. There’s the ceremony, your attire, instructions for the bridal party, the reception details, and the list goes on. And, unless you’re a pro, chances are you may not know what to add your to-do list.

Take the mystery out of those small to-dos with a short list of typically overlooked essentials that no one tells you that you’ll need for your Big Day.

Contracts

Every time you hire a florist, caterer, or photographer; book a reception venue; or rent items from a rental company, you must get an agreement in writing. Until you sign the contract and put down a deposit, you have no way to guarantee that vendors will deliver on their end of the bargain. Make sure the agreement includes the date and time of the wedding, and a point of contact the vendor can call on if anything goes wrong.

Glassware

If you are planning to have a bar at your wedding, you need to determine how many glasses you will need. One mistake we see often is underestimating the number of glasses needed. Instinctively couples order one glass per person. Instead, assume that each guest will have one drink per hour. Yes, some will have more, but some will also have less. Here’s our go-to formula:

The total number of guests X the length (in hours of the party) = the total number of drinks. (So, if you are expecting 200 guests for 4 hours, you should plan on serving 800 drinks.)

Then, estimate how much wine will be served. Wine may make up 60 percent of the remaining drinks.That leaves 480 drinks, of which 60% will be wine. (480 x 60% = 288). In this example, we need 288 wine glasses.

Last, calculate how many all-purpose glasses you need. We recommend rocks glasses. These can be used for non-alcoholic and specialty drinks. This is the most economical way to go as almost all rental companies have this glass. In our example, we needed a total of 192 all-purpose glasses.

Bridal Essentials Bag

Prepare a bag for your personal belongings and the essentials you may need throughout the day. Consider including items like breath mints, nail polish, lipstick for touch-ups, deodorant and a Tide-To-Go pen for accidents. Designate one person to handle the bag for most of the day. This is a task for your maid of honor.

Imagine minutes before your trip down the aisle; you realize you need double-sided tape to keep your dress in place. Your designated bag handler can quickly come to your aid with a well-stocked bag. No one wants a wardrobe malfunction on their Big Day.

Wedding Day Timeline

Create a timeline of events, so everyone's on the same page. Set established times for the ceremony, reception and cocktail hour, and stick to them.

Keep a separate timeline of events for your wedding party. This would include time blocks for makeup and photographs. Planning down to the minute will save you and your wedding party from losing track of time and throwing the entire day off schedule.

Transportation Plan

When it comes to transportation for your Big Day, devising a plan for you and your guests is essential. Be aware of other events that may be going on in town during the week of your wedding (tradeshows, sporting events, or special festivals) These events may impact traffic and travel times, therefore creating an issue for your timeline. What usually takes 15 minutes to get from the hotel to your venue could take an hour or longer due to traffic.

Also, consider guests parking when developing your transportation plan. Make sure your venue has adequate parking for all guests. Talk with your venue manager to get all available parking options and if staff can guide guests. If you have it in the budget, think about hiring a shuttle for guests or valet service. Whatever you decide, don’t take on transportation all by yourself or leave it up to guests.

Help

You may think you can take on your Big Day all on your own, but it’s not as easy as you may think. Hire a wedding planner to manage the day so you can focus on enjoying the best day of your life. Having the help of a wedding planner can save you from dealing with potential stress and disappointments. A wedding pro can help you execute your vision, manage your timelines, select the best vendors and negotiate on your behalf.

Your wedding day is supposed to be the best of day of your life, and with the proper planning, it can be everything that you dreamed.

If you’re planning your Big Day, join us for The Faux Wedding Experience on September 26th at Charm City’s 1840’s Plaza. There’s a reason why they call this event Charm City’s best fall wedding event! An alternative to the traditional bridal show, The Faux Wedding Experience gives grooms, brides, and their tribes the opportunity to crash a faux wedding—and experience some of Baltimore’s vendors work first hand. Get your tickets now at https://lovexmelbournefauxwedding.eventbrite.com/. We can’t wait to see you!

New Bridal Crop Top Tanks In Store Now!

It's almost summer time, which means it's time to bring out those cute graphic tanks and tees we all love. Don't have one? Well you, my luxe bride, are in luck! We recently released our Wife,.(which reads Wife, Period) crop top tanks and they are available in white and black (shown below) for purchase in the Shoppe.

You can also pre-order your "Brains, Beauty, BRIDE" tank (shown below) by emailing letsplan@audreyluxe.com, with the subject "Graphic Tee Pre-Order", and your size and color choice. Once we receive your email, we will send an invoice for your purchase. Take advantage of the pre-order option before they sell out!

Available in Grey, Black and White. Sizes XS-XL. $22.50

Swarovski Crystal Champagne Flutes

This month we are featuring our Gold Champagne flutes with Swarovski crystals.

The wedding we’ve all been waiting for has passed, and the wedding industry (and all the Royal Family Fans) are still buzzing on its splendor. Between events and consultations, I was unable to watch this most anticipated event live; however, once I was able to relax, with snacks and a glass of wine, I enjoyed the full replay HULU so graciously made available to its subscribers. Thank you Hulu! Thank you!

Because I can sit all day and talk for hours about “the things I loved” about the wedding, I made it a point to only cover three in this blog post for the sake of time. I’m also going to reveal who we nominated as “Best Dressed Guest”. So without further ado, here are

A. LUXE’ TOP THREE ROYAL WEDDING FAV’S

1. The Duchess of Sussex’ Wedding Bouquet: If you were expecting an extravagant cascading floral bouquet, then you may have been shocked at Meghan Markles choice of a simple all white small bouquet filled with none other than Forget-Me-Nots (Princess Diana’s favorite), scented Sweet Peas, Lily of the Valley, Astilbe, Jasmine and Astrantia and a few Sprigs of Myrtle. It’s been said that some of the blooms were handpicked, by Prince Harry himself, out of the Kensington Place Garden. While the other florals were donated to Hospice, the Duchess placed her bouquet on the grave of an unknown Soldier, following a royal tradition that dates back nearly a century.

2. Meghan Markles Veil: The 16-foot veil, designed by Clare Waight Keller, was made of silk tulle and represented a special connection to the Commonwealth. The veil featured a trim of hand embroidered flowers from each of the 53 countries in the Commonwealth and was well thought out by the designer and Markle. Apparently the Duchess wanted her wedding day to tell a story and her veil had a leading role!

3. Wedding Décor: Although I wasn’t thrilled with the choice of simple folding chairs (you can never go wrong with Chiavari), I did love the simplicity of the décor. When marrying at a castle, you really don’t have to do much to spruce up the place, so the elegant white garden roses, peonies and fox gloves were the perfect add on. London-based florist, Philippa Craddock hit the nail on the head with “less is more”.

BEST DRESSED GUEST: ROYAL WEDDING STYLE

Typically, as guests at a wedding, you try not to out-shine the Bride and Groom, but Actress Priyanka Chopra and former soccer star David Beckham pushed the envelope a little.

I literally lowered my wine glass from my lips, in awe, as I watched Priyanka strut in her custom lavender Vivienne Westwood Skirt and blazer. However, when I caught a glimpse of her shoes, I swapped the glass for my iphone to google “P r i y a n k a R o y a l W e d d i n g S h o e”. The Jimmy Choo x Off White Victoria heels adorned with asymmetrical straps, dripping in crystal embellishments were to.die.for. Not to mention the clear PVC toe, which is one of 2018 biggest shoe trends. Everything about her choice of wardrobe was amazing. Mimi Cuttrell (her stylist) deserves an award. BTW if you have an extra $1995, you can strut in those Jimmy Choo's too!

David Beckham, of course, did not disappoint with his Dior Hommes "morning suit". He was decked out in a Charcoal grey super 130s wool twill morning coat and pants, with a nicely paired light grey 150s wool twill double breasted waistcoat. What a hunk!! Victoria Beckham looked great too, however a smile would have been greater :-)

All in all, I very much enjoyed myself from my couch seat view of the Royal Wedding. May the Prince and Duchess of Sussex live happily ever Windsor!